England have maintained their 100 percent winning rate in the World Cup qualifiers after a comfortable 2-0 win against Serbia on Thursday (November 13). By the virtue of this result, England have won all of their seven encounters thus far and all this has been done with minimal fuss.
Apart from maintaining a flawless win percentage, Thomas Tuchel's side have also been superstrong in defence. The Three Lions are yet to concede a single goal in the World Cup qualifiers and this is testimony to their defensive solidity under the new manager. Meanwhile, the goals are also flowing as England have netted 20 times across the seven games, showing a solid conversion rate.
Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe scored a brace as France routed Ukraine 4-0 in the Group D fixture. Apart from Mbappe, there were goals from hugo Ekitike and Michael Olise as the French firepower proved too hot to handle for the Ukraine backline. Ironically, it was a decent job in the first half from the visitors who held on to a 0-0 scoreline before France unleashed in the second half with a flurry of goals.
Like England, France are also at the top in their group with four wins and a draw from five games. Mbappe's men have scored 13 goals across these five games but apart from their latest showing, the goals haven't been as frequent, which makes this win feel like a major relief for the squad.
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Group F saw a shock result as Portugal went down 0-2 to Ireland in a topsy-turvy fixture that had plenty of physicality. As many as five yellow cards were shown while veteran Cristiano Ronaldo was sent-off for the first time in his Portugal career in the 61st minute of the game.
Initially given as a yellow card for elbowing Ireland's defender Dara O'Shea, VAR recommended the red card for the 40-year-old - a decision that has gained polarised reactions among the fans and pundits. Meanwhile, Ireland put in a solid show led by Troy Parrott's brace in the first half in a game of few chances.